Punjab speaker forms committee to address suspended PTI members' references

Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan has constituted an eight-member negotiation committee to address the issue of references filed against suspended Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members, Express News reported.

The development follows an initial consultative meeting between Speaker Khan and 26 suspended MPAs of PTI over disqualification references filed against them.

The committee includes chief whip Rana Arshad, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mujtaba Shuja ur Rehman, Khawaja Salman Rafique, Samiullah Khan, and Ahmad Iqbal.

Additional representation comes from allied parties with Ali Haider Gillani from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Chaudhry Shafay Hussain from the Pakistan Muslim League (Q), and Shoaib Siddiqui from the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP).also named to the body.

Sources further revealed that the opposition is expected to submit its nominees to the speaker today. The opposition delegation may include Opposition Leader Ahmad Khan Bhachar, Parliamentary Leader Ali Imtiaz Waraich, PTI Lahore President Sheikh Imtiaz, Ejaz Shafi, and other senior members.

The second round of talks between the government and opposition committees is scheduled for Sunday at 4:30 pm at the Punjab Assembly. Both sides are expected to finalise their recommendations for the negotiation framework by the end of the day.

Read: Punjab MPAs may strike decorum deal

Key representatives from both treasury and opposition benches are likely to establish Terms of Reference (ToRs) in the coming days, aimed at regulating the future proceedings of the Punjab Assembly and discouraging humiliation, abusive exchanges and violent conduct between lawmakers.

The list of suspended PTI MPAs includes: Malik Fahad Masood (PP-13), Muhammad Tanveer Aslam (PP-19), Syed Riffat Mehmood (PP-24), Yasir Mehmood Qureshi (PP-25), Kaleem Ullah Khan (PP-60), Muhammad Ansar Iqbal (PP-73), Ali Asif (PP-75), Zulifqar Ali (PP-76), Ahmad Mujtaba Chaudhary (PP-99), Shahid Javed (PP-115), Muhammad Ismael (PP-116), Khayal Ahmad (PP-118), Shahbaz Ahmad (PP-130), Tayyab Rashid (PP-141), Imtiaz Mehmood (PP-155), Ali Imtiaz (PP-156), Rashid Tufail (PP-175), Rai Muhammad Murtaza Iqbal (PP-203), Khalid Zubair Nisar (PP-231), Chaudhry Muhammad Ejaz Shafi (PP-258), Samia Kanwal (PP-260), Muhammad Naeem (PP-263), Sajjad Ahmad (PP-265), Rana Aurang Zaib (PP-276), Shuaib Ameer (PP-281), and Usama Asghar Ali Gujjar (PP-282).

Both sides reportedly agreed to form a joint committee of senior members to make the consultation process more effective and to explore constitutional, legal and parliamentary solutions to the impasse.

It is worth mentioning that Speaker Khan had received disqualification references against these currently suspended MPAs under Article 63(2) read with Article 113 of the Constitution. It is his constitutional obligation to decide on these references within 30 days, as stipulated in the said provisions.